What if women never established rights? The world would not be what it is today if that were the case. Women are capable of doing as much as men, and even more. What if men were treated the same as women a thousand years ago? They would have felt, just like women, hurt because the treatment between men and women was unfair. The fact that men and women are not treated equally is wrong in many ways, but it was the way of life at that time. In British culture, from the Anglo-Saxon period to the Renaissance, men were respected at a higher level than women, and women were always expected to be submissive to men, which has been demonstrated in many literary works. In Saxon times, women had rights, but they were limited. The Anglo-Saxon period began in 449 and lasted until 1066 (Leeming 10). By the end of this era, research proves that women could inherit and maintain control of this property (Leeming 10). Even if women married, it was still she who held control of her property, not her husband's (Leeming 10). Even though men of this era were expected to be in control at all times, they had no other choice in this particular situation. According to David Leeming, “a prospective husband was expected to offer a wife a substantial sum (called morgengifu, the “morning gift”) in the form of money and land” (Leeming 10). The woman made the decision to keep, sell or simply There weren't many opportunities available to women at this time, due to the limited number of things women could actually do, they often joined religious groups ( Leeming 10). opportunity (Leeming...... middle of paper...... Holt, Rhinehart & Winston, 1997. 1-16. Print. Leeming, David Adams. "The Middle Ages." Element of Literature, Sixth Course. Austin: Holt, Rhinehart & Winston, 1997. 72-88. Print.Main, CF “The Renaissance Element of Literature”, Sixth Course Austin: Holt, Rhinehart & Winston, 1997. 192-212.The Tragedy of Macbeth. of Literature, Sixth Course Austin: Holt, Rhinehart & Winston, 1997. 300-382. “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sixth Course” Austin: Holt, Rhinehart & Winston, 1997. Print.Wiesner-. Hanks, Merry E. "Do Women Need the Renaissance?" Shakespeare: A Dictionary of His Stage Context (2004): 502-504. Internet Literary Reference Center.. 2014.